Rating: 
Summary: A treasure, if not historically accurate
Review: It all depends on what you want from a book. This is fiction. It is an imaginary journey through the author's delightful style into the minds of people we can never know. If you must have true history, there are some things concocted for the mere pleasure of story. BUT, if you want delicious reading, thoughtful insight, memorable characters, this book is a treasure. I found Anna to be not whiny but torn by her own sense of right, her desire for happiness and her acceptance of reality. Ottilie was brazen and a snob, typical of the bourgeoisie of any age, who believe that because they grew up wealthy, pampered and indulged, the world owes them continual pampering and indulgence of any flight of fancy... on top of that, the "world" owes everybody pampering and indulgence, without realizing it is the Annas of the earth that sustain us all and make life tolerable. Douglass himself is portrayed as bigger than life, the kind of man who can do dynamic things both good and evil. He seems true of mind as so many in public life, where the bounds of right and wrong cross and fade in trying to solve the "big" questions of humanity. In pursuit of his goal and by the grace of his own unmeasurable ego, he walks on some plane above everyone in his life, never seeing them as anything but stepping stones and stumbling blocks. We can't know if the man was truly of that disposition, but judging from others of that ilk, it seems plausible. Wonderful work. Very worth the read for pure enjoyment of the author's perfect voice and pacing.
Rating:
Summary: A treasure, if not historically accurate
Review: It all depends on what you want from a book. This is fiction. It is an imaginary journey through the author's delightful style into the minds of people we can never know. If you must have true history, there are some things concocted for the mere pleasure of story. BUT, if you want delicious reading, thoughtful insight, memorable characters, this book is a treasure. I found Anna to be not whiny but torn by her own sense of right, her desire for happiness and her acceptance of reality. Ottilie was brazen and a snob, typical of the bourgeoisie of any age, who believe that because they grew up wealthy, pampered and indulged, the world owes them continual pampering and indulgence of any flight of fancy... on top of that, the "world" owes everybody pampering and indulgence, without realizing it is the Annas of the earth that sustain us all and make life tolerable. Douglass himself is portrayed as bigger than life, the kind of man who can do dynamic things both good and evil. He seems true of mind as so many in public life, where the bounds of right and wrong cross and fade in trying to solve the "big" questions of humanity. In pursuit of his goal and by the grace of his own unmeasurable ego, he walks on some plane above everyone in his life, never seeing them as anything but stepping stones and stumbling blocks. We can't know if the man was truly of that disposition, but judging from others of that ilk, it seems plausible. Wonderful work. Very worth the read for pure enjoyment of the author's perfect voice and pacing.
Rating:
Summary: Loving An Abolitionist(Man of the Hour)
Review: Jewell Parker Rhodes Douglass' Women Book Review
by Jeanine J. JonesDr. Jewell Parker Rhodes takes us to new heights as she reveals the infidelities of a prominent Black abolitionist of the 1800's; we all know him as the late great Frederick Douglass. In her historical fiction novel Douglass' Women, Rhodes brings the stories of two women to life. Anna Murray Douglass is a free illiterate black woman and Ottilie Assing is a well to do German-Jew woman who passed as a white woman. Anna is the wife of the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Ottillie Assing is his mistress. Although as different as night and day, these two women both come from dual parent, loving family house holds, both doubt Douglass' faith in God, and the ultimate similarity they share is an undying love for Fredrick Bailey Douglass. Ironically, Douglass does not share that same love with his loyal wife and seducing mistress even though they were both very instrumental in his reign of success, serving as domestic and secretarial staff as well as financial supporters of his escapes. Douglass never confessed his love to either of these women although they remained subservient to him and his cause, from love making, (or the lack of) to abolition work. Although in the novel, these women view Douglass as strikingly handsome, Douglass is also ever so clever. He uses both women to his economic advantage, by tapping into and taking over their monetary gain to live and carry on his life's work. Both women die tragically without ever hearing the words "I love you" from their mysterious companion. He never says nor displays any loving emotion toward either of these women. This historical patriarch continued the rest of his life in the companionship of yet another white woman whom he married. Dr. Rhodes admits that her work was inspired by anger. I must too admit that my interest in Douglass' Women was inspired by anger. Exposure to this work has intrigued me to research the Famous Abolitionist Frederick Bailey Douglass extensively as well as other black leaders. This beautifully written novel sheds new light on a man that has been deemed as one of the "Greats" of African American History and Society. His intolerance for illiteracy and his omission of acknowledging his Black counterparts who helped him in his struggle was quite surprising. Douglass refuses to accept his daughter Rosetta's choice of love when she tries to get his approval on her love, Lucias, a run away slave who could not read. This was a bit disturbing since Lucias was presented as a young Frederick Douglass. Today Black women agonize over Black men dating, marrying, and sleeping with white woman, but Dr. Rhodes shows us that history repeats itself over and over again in more ways than one: Kobe Bryant, Damon Dash, Marcus Dixon, O.J., need I say more? Whether it is modern day history or present day history in the making, there are many front men of the African American race who lose sight of their cause, because they are too busy getting dressed up for the limelight to stand with white counterparts, who could very well be looking for that token house nigger that will do whatever it takes to be in the spotlight. They neglect their families, wives, and children and begin a journey of deceit when eventually they are the ones being deceived by the master's oh, excuse me, I mean the masses or majority race. All this only to be dropped like a hot potato when Sally screams RAAAAPE! Or when he wants to break away from his white counterparts (chains) and declare independency and do his own thing. Written with a vivid countryside view, this colorful novel, black and white in text and page only, is beyond measure of gratitude. The typed written pages of imagination and reality cannot be deciphered therefore Douglass' Women are real to me, and every black woman I know. Black women all over should stand up right now wherever you are and applaud Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes for inviting and taking us on an amazing journey, and while you are up, take a bow for being who you are, the savior of the black race. Saluting Anna Murray Douglass goes without saying.
Rating:
Summary: Unrequited love times two
Review: More often than not, extraordinary lives are shrouded in obscurity, especially when measured against time and magnified beyond proportion if it's subjective to a historic figure for comparison. Adequate research allow us to reach across time and get a second look at abolitionist Frederick Douglass and the women behind his success..and what a story they have to tell! Jewell Parker-Rhodes' awe-inspiring account of this story is told within the pages of her new book, The Douglass' Women. Insightful and profound, we get a chance to witness the trials and tribulation of two women conveying the range and depth of emotions felt loving the same man...or reveling in the skill of the author displaying the idiosyncracies of polar opposites. These are differences underscored by the constant jockeying for position, with both of them longing for the answers of who belongs. This book is more than a story of love and passion. It gives a different view of Frederick Douglass beyond his fight for the abolition of slavery and his eloquence for public speaking. It reveals his emotions and human side to fragile interpretations of the heart, and why he made the decisions concerning the need to have these women beyond amorous liasions. A good case can be made for this novel in assessing interesting ways to look at how a man trreated love and passion, what made him do the things he did for love, and what drove him to continue when it was evident that it was not to his best interest . It's more in my opinion too, about innuendo gone awry...about the extremes present with a man hell-bent on espousing the importance of his life's work in lieu of guaranteeing matrimonial happiness at the expense of two that thrived on (his) acceptance. The book ascertains from the beginning and builds to heightened awareness of what led to Ottillie's presence, and sustained reasons why he chose to stay married. Reasons supplied in the book tell why they were as influential to him despite, if not because of, the circumstances attributing to his persona. It was written in the style of alternating perspectives of distaff Anna Murray Douglass and Ottilie Assing, with occasional reference to Frederick Douglass' daughter Rosetta. Let's look at the personas of each: Anna Douglass was a plain and simple free black who did more for Douglass than portray the duties of a wife. If not for her, Douglass would not have made it up north. She suffered in her own rebellous way, demanding answers that wasn't given to her until a fateful meeting with her antagonist, Otillie (if you can depict her as such). Ottilie Assing was a well-educated abolitionist Jew from a well-to-do family, who not only became his constant companion, speech writer, public relations guru, translator, but also his...lover. Rosetta Douglass loved and revered her father, but felt inferior to the point of always needing the wherewithal to please him, and to live up to being a child of the great Frederick Douglass. Add all of the intrigue and dialogue from both Anna and Ottilie, you get adjectives such as passion, jealousy, resentment, and envy. It's stories like this that are not always in the public domain, but may elicit a situation where in one person's mind there's reason to perpetuate an uneasy solidarity in sharing love, in an unrequited way. It's important when reading this book that you're mindful of how the author was able to weave it in a way where telling a good story is equal to the parts rendered. What these ladies poured out of their souls made this book what it is, and how parallels were were drawn for constrast. I imagined without recourse that their character makeup via how these thoughts were conveyed, gave Ms Rhodes all the ingenuity needed to make this a poignant and compelling read. She did it by allowing us a seat in each of their imaginations, displaying all of the anst, anger, and anticipation of any type of reciprocality. I felt that the rotating narratives were extremely functional in making a case for it to be a two-sided tale. When reading this novel, there are questions to be answered: Did he really love these women, and to what extent? Was his decision(s) motivated by practicality or real passion? And, how were they able to come to terms with the situation? For this reviewer, reasons were evident that the black vs. white issue was irrevelent as opposed to what each woman got out of the relationship, and what lessons were learned. It should be evident too, about how Jewell Parker-Rhodes expertly made the picture bigger by applying the canvas with enough color to paint the passions and tensions in the lives of these women, each giving reason and implied rationale to belong. Display this book among the other Duglass collectibles. Buying and reading this book is a must if you want to get yet, another view of one of history's prolific men.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Written Books in a long time
Review: The author was able to make words become pictures. I saw
every city, house , boat, person in this story. For me , I was so happy to read a book without a waiting to
exhale theme ( no disrespect to my girl Terry). The author could not escape the topic of he she, me , her
love triangle, however the story was written in an slavery era and about a man we revere. This was ingenious.
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